CARBONADA CRIOLLA(Lamb stew served in pumpkins) Serves 6For the pumpkins:-- 6 small pumpkins -- Butter or oil to coat inside of pumpkins -- 3 tablespoons sugar For the stew:-- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil -- 3 pounds lamb shank meat cut into ½-inch cubes -- 1 large Spanish onion, chopped -- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped -- 3 fresh ears of corn; use knife to scrape kernels from the cobs -- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes -- 2 large plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped -- 1 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined and cut into ¼-inch pieces -- 1 glass dry white wine -- 1 bay leaf -- 1 sprig thyme -- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika -- 1 teaspoon cumin -- Salt and pepper to taste -- 5 dried peaches or apricots cut into ¼-inch cubes (optional) For the pumpkins: Wash and dry the pumpkins, then cut the top off each to create a serving pot with a lid. Remove the seeds with a spoon and a little of the pumpkin meat and set aside. Prick the insides of the carved pumpkins with a fork, taking care not to pierce the skin. Generously butter or oil the insides of the pumpkins and sprinkle with sugar. Cover with the lids and cook in a 350-degree preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until almost cooked through. Set aside. While the pumpkins are in the oven, start preparing the stew. Heat the oil in a medium-size pot over high heat, add the meat and brown on all sides. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add the corn, reserved pumpkin meat, carrots, tomatoes, pepper, wine, bay leaf, thyme, paprika, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 hour. Add the dried peach cubes and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and let the stew rest, covered, for 15 minutes more. To assemble the Carbonada: Ladle about 1 ½ cup of the stew into each pumpkin and return them to the oven for another 10 minutes. — Recipe courtesy of Natalia Machado and restaurant Industria Argentina, Manhattan.Stuff the vegetable with stew for an inexpensive meal

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Pumpkin and lamb are traditional Argentinean foods, often used in combination around harvest time.

Natalia Machado, a native of Argentina, is executive chef of Industria Argentina, Azul and Libertador, restaurants in Manhattan. She supplies the following recipe for lamb stew served in pumpkins. Lamb is a staple in Argentinian cooking.

The beauty of this dish is that it is tasty, easy and uses seasonal, inexpensive ingredients. The stew may be presented either in large or individual-size pumpkins for a festive dinner. Leftovers may be served the next day with rice. Ms. Machado recommends serving the stew with a nice Argentinean Malbec.

While Hungarian paprika can be substituted for the smoked paprika in this recipe, the smoked kind adds a nice flavor component. Find the ingredient at specialty spice stores or online from Penzy’s at Penzys.com or Atlantic Spice Company at atlanticspice.com.

Supermarkets like Stop and Shop in New Springville and Shop Rite in New Dorp typically carry lamb shank. Note there are two specialty markets that trim the meat fresh in the store from a whole lamb. Al Medina in Meiers Corners — 2048 Victory Blvd., 718-698-2050 — is an Albanian specialty shop 4with halal meat. Mecca Mart in Mariners Harbor — 2111 Forest Ave., 718-981-8200 — features Middle Eastern food as well as halal cuts.